Harvey Weinstein to face retrial after appeal court overturned rape conviction
Harvey Weinstein will be retried in New York for alleged sex crimes after his 2020 rape conviction was overturned last week.
The former Hollywood titan looked frail as he was wheeled into a Manhattan courtroom for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.
Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg told the court: “We believe in this case and will be retrying this case.”
Last week, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the disgraced movie producer did not receive a fair trial when he was convicted – effectively erasing his 23-year prison sentence.
Ms Blumberg added that one of Weinstein’s accusers, Jessica Mann, was in the courtroom because “she is committed to seeing justice served once again”.
“We have every belief that the defendant will be convicted again at trial,” the prosecutor added.
Judge Curtis Farber remanded Weinstein, 72, who is serving a 16-year prison sentence for a separate rape conviction in California, back into custody.
He said he expected to hold a new trial in early September.
Weinstein has denied all allegations
In February 2020, jurors in Manhattan convicted Weinstein of sexually assaulting Miriam Haley, then a production assistant, in 2006 and of raping Ms Mann, an aspiring actress, in 2013. They are among more than 80 women who have accused him of sexual misconduct.
The conviction included charges of first-degree sexual assault and third-degree rape. Weinstein, who has denied having non-consensual sexual encounters with anyone, was acquitted on other charges.
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg’s office has said it is determined to retry the case against Weinstein.
Gloria Allred, a victims’ rights lawyer for Ms Haley, said her client “has not yet taken a decision about whether she will agree to testify in a retrial.”
“The vacating of the conviction was re-traumatising for her... She’s still thinking about it,” Ms Allred said outside court.
The Court of Appeals vacated Weinstein’s conviction in a 4-3 decision after concluding the trial judge permitted jurors to see and hear too much evidence not directly related to what he was charged with.
The ruling shocked and disappointed women who celebrated historic gains during the era of MeToo, a movement that ushered in a wave of sexual misconduct claims in Hollywood and beyond.
The decision to quash the New York convictions rested on the fact the judge allowed prosecutors to rely on so-called “Molineux witnesses,” who were allowed to testify despite not being part of the charges– an exception to the normal rules surrounding evidence.
“There’s a tremendous sense of relief that we’re back here,” Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala said after the court hearing.
Mr Aidala said Weinstein’s “life is on the line”.
He said his client had not been involved in “any fights or altercations” in prison, but had been “used to drinking champagne and eating caviar - now he’s buying chips in the commissary”.
There will be a second hearing on 29 May to discuss discovery issues, Mr Faber said.
